Today’s youngest cardinal is Mafi from Tonga, created in February 2015. He is 53 — turning 54 in December.

Mafi ALREADY is older than the ten youngest popes since 1400! Here is my list (from this 2010 post).

So Mafi, THE youngest, is plenty old enough to be a ‘modern’ pope.

That is basically the issue today when it comes to how young a pope could be. UNLESS the electors, for inescapable reasons, decide to go with a non-cardinal, any papabile is BOUND to be plenty old enough. Any under-80 cardinal, unless there is an explicit papal dispensation, has to be a Bishop to be created. You need to be 35 years old to be a bishop. 35 is plenty old enough.

So that is the deal. Here is a list, from my new Excel spreadsheet of the current crop of youngest cardinals. A few of them, Lacroix, Tagle, Parolin, Erdö and Koch could be considered papabili. They are ALL plenty old enough. OK?

++++ Please scroll down for other posts. I don’t have the time and space to show all the links.

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Yes, the 2nd Kindle book in 4 days, but this is the last. In this ebook I included 15 FAQs: the ones most asked of me. Also provide a list of all the ‘officers’ for the 2013 conclave plus their duties. Yes, some of the content is borrowed from ‘The Next Pope 2011‘. As with ‘The Last 9 Conclaves: 1903 to 2005’ the express intent of this ebook is to provide electronic content for those that was reference matter on their Smart Phones or Pads — given that the ‘The Next Pope 2011‘ is not available electronically, and will not be available electronically. I priced it to coincide with the correct sequence number of the new pope: #267; hence U.S. $2.67.

Kind of funny, in a sad way, to papal historians like me. Another well known pope to resign: not once BUT twice. Benedict ‘3-term’ IX (#146, #148 & #151). This will blacken the name ‘Benedict’ for a long time.

So what do you call an ex-pope, other than ‘loser’? He can’t carry on being Benedict XVI. That was his papal name. He has to Ratzinger. But, what Ratzinger. Pope Emeritus Ratzinger?

Where will he live. Rome? Italy? Germany? Elba? Or will he move to the U.S.?

Yes, I am a cynic. Benedict IX resigned for the first time BECAUSE he, around 25 at the time, wanted to get married. Will Benedict finally marry Ingrid Stampa?

What will the ex-Pope do during the conclave? Will he attend the inauguration?

Why did he spurn God’s will? When 6 year olds get killed everybody says ‘God’s Will’, they are going home to God. So what about the pope. Didn’t God just want to ask him to come home? This to me violates God’s will.

The pope should NOT have resigned. Yes, of course, he had the right and he had talked about it. John Paul II did NOT resign. He braved it out till the end and let God make the call. My Queen will do the same. She has said she will not abdicate. She was given the job — for life.

That Benedict XVI resigned finally confirmed my refrain of the last 18 months. He was a weak pope. GROBR. The timing of his resignation is clear. He wanted to make sure his buddy Kasper can be an elector. He turns 80 on March 5 but will be eligible because he was under 80 when the pope resigned.

My top 5:

#1 (tied): Lord Bertone

#1 (tied): Marc Ouellet

#3: Lord Tettamanzi

#4: Angelo Scola

#5: Lord Schonborn

Fat pope, followed by thin pope. Old pope followed by young pope.

Weak pope followed by Lord Bertone. QED.

Ouellet ONLY if papal resignation now become accepted as the norm.

German pope soured it for other non-Italians. So that will weigh against both Ouellet and Schonborn.

Next pope WILL NOT be American. Next pope will be white.

Popes and Papacy inundated. We have upgraded the server 4 times. GoDaddy, where it is hosted, as been outstanding. So be patient on main blog. Thanks.

Well this is what I was up to for the last 15 months. Writing this book, an adjunct to this blog.

If you read this blog you should check out this book. If you like this blog you must buy the book.

This is the definite, no stones left unturned handbook for the NEXT papal election — whenever that comes to be.

The dignified pomp as red-clad cardinals solemnly congregate in Rome, the obstinate obfuscation as to who is in the running to be the next pope, and the eagerly awaited color-coded smoke signals [sfumata] are matchless and enduring.

With this book you will be ahead of the game. Don’t rely on the media ‘pundits.’ With this book you will be a true expert as to who is in the running [i.e., the papabili], what makes them credible contenders, the traditions, the precedents, the rules, the schedule … even the shape of the urns used to collect the ballots.

I do this with utmost trepidation. But if you are a regular reader of this BLOG you may need to check this out. Hence, why I have gone out on this limb. SORRY.

I really do not want to be a gadfly or be seen as a critic. I fully understand the meaning of that sage saying “those who live in glass houses …”

That is why I started off writing a long apologia BEFORE I even started this project. My only motive and rationale is to propagate accuracy. You all can help. As I repeatedly point out, I may be wrong. I know I get things wrong, and I do not have a problem acknowledging my errors and fixing them.

Anyway, here is an ongoing list of POTENTIAL errors I have found in books about the popes. It is not a complete list. I just don’t have the time. Again, I am sorry I have to do this. Don’t shoot me for being essentially a messenger.